All is Fair
by Elinor W
Summary: As Harry enters his sixth year he has no idea what awaits him...Harry has to come to terms with his past...and his future before he can face the present.
1. Chapter 1

As twilight settled over Privet drive two shapes slipped out the back door of number four. The first walked with purpose towards a group of boys laughing on the streetcorner, the other watched him go before turning to go in the other direction.  
  
Harry Potter jogged down the street in an effort to put as much distance between him and Dudley's gang as possible. He knew that Dudley would be too afraid to beat him up, and watching his cousin's consternation whenever they ran into each other was rather funny, but Harry didn't feel like dealing with all of them tonight.  
  
It was his sixteenth birthday and he'd received presents from all of his friends. Ron had sent him a guidebook to some of the more advanced seeker moves that included moving diagrams and pictures which showed the moves used during actual games. Hermione had sent him a book The Art of Defense: A Teacher's Guide to Teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry had to admit that it was an interesting read, especially since it was geared towards lessons and ranged from the essentials to almost unheard of hexes and curses. Inside Hermione had tucked a note asking about whether or not they were going to start up the DA again.  
  
Harry hadn't really decided whether or not to start it up again. The year before it had been his only source of fun. But maybe they would have a decent teacher for DADA this year. Harry shrugged to himself as he jogged along. He would wait and see if it was needed.  
  
He had gotten other presents too. A box he hadn't opened yet that trembled suspiciously whenever he had approached it had come from Hagrid. Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to open it, knowing Hagrid it could be anything, and most likely a poisonous anything.  
  
He had gotten candies from Dean and Seamus, he still had a few of the Chocolate Frogs left. Neville had sent him a little ball that looked like a marble when it wasn't in use but when Harry said his own name it would light up and hover over Harry's shoulder, making it much easier to do his homework late at night.  
  
A few of the members of the Order had sent him things too, Moody had sent him a rather sinister looking device that Harry was afraid to touch, McGonagall had sent him a book on Aurors, and Lupin had sent him a letter saying that he had a present for Harry but didn't want to send it by mail.  
  
Harry sighed as he brushed away a bit of the sweat that was beading on the back of his neck. The presents were wonderful, as was the cake Mrs. Figg had baked for him, but he would have given them all back to be able to see Sirius again.  
  
He had relived that moment over and over again, Sirius falling through the veil with a grin still intact on his face. And then Harry had waited but Sirius hadn't come back. He didn't come back. Harry knew that it was his fault. If only he had swallowed his pride after Snape sent him away and asked him, begged him to continue teaching Harry oclumency. If only he hadn't looked into the Pensieve and seen that memory.  
  
Harry grimaced, why had his father been such a git? He kept showing off, and messing up his hair. The snitch too, although Harry thought privately that that was kind of cool. Harry ran a hand through his own hair absentmindedly as he paused for a moment to catch his breath.  
  
"Teach the little idiot right!" Harry straightened, that was the voice of Piers Polkiss, one of Dudley's gang. He could hear them now, laughing away and then the occasional thud that Harry knew only too well to be someone's fist meeting flesh.  
  
Harry was steeling himself to interfere when someone else spoke, "Come on guys, lets go find something else to do." Harry raised his eyebrows, that was Dudley. Dudley walk away from a fight? Never.  
  
"Come on Big D, he was asking for it!" said another of the boys, Harry couldn't bother to remember his name.  
  
"No, just leave him alone. Come on guys." Dudley said.  
  
"What'sa matter Dudley, you afraid of some little eleven year old?" Piers said. Harry inched forwards until he could see Dudley and the others just as Dudley smacked Piers in the face with a fist. Harry grinned, that was more like the Dudley he knew.  
  
Piers was on the ground, one hand clenched to his nose. "Take it back Piers." Dudley said.  
  
"Sorry Big D." Piers said. Dudley nodded and walked, Harry had noticed that Dudley was waddling less and less these days, over to the other boys. "Tomorrow night then, you bring the cigarettes Piers." Piers nodded from where he was on the ground, obviously cowed.  
  
Dudley strode off and all the other boys slowly dispersed, leaving just one small figure lying on the ground. Harry walked over and put down a hand to help the younger boy up. "You're Mark Evans right? I'm sorry about that, my cousin's a git." The younger boy was looking at Harry in horror and Harry smiled embarrassedly, "I'm not really all that horrible you know."  
  
"B-but you go to St. Br-Brutus'" Mark said.  
  
"Well.yeah, but." Harry trailed off, not entirely sure about how to explain that one away. His aunt and uncle would kill him if he denied going to St. Brutus'. "Anyway, I'm sorry about Dudley."  
  
Mark shrugged, "Er..he's not so bad as he used to be. Ever since sometime late last summer he's been a bit more decent. One night he was beating up one of my friends, just two nights after he beat me up for "cheeking" him. And then my friend was hiding from them in the park and he saw Big D go off with you.and well, he hasn't been so mean since then." Mark stopped speaking suddenly, remembering that he was talking with "that Potter boy". "I-er better go now. Dad will be waiting for me." Mark said.  
  
Harry called out a goodbye as he watched Mark tear off towards his home. He was busy thinking about what Mark had said. He remembered that night well, any night with dementors involved was an occasion to remember. He wondered just what Dudley had seen when the dementor came towards him that had made him reluctant to happily administer beatings to anyone younger than he.  
  
Harry headed slowly back to number four, scuffing his sneakers in the few leaves lying in the gutters. Dudley was in the garage, punching away at his punching bag. Harry stood and watched for a moment until Dudley realized he was there. "What do you want?" Dudley asked. "Come to point your little stick at me some more?"  
  
Harry laughed, that had been rather amusing really. He and Dudley had been working in the garden earlier, he because Uncle Vernon demanded that he "do something to make up for having you around, attracting all these weirdos" and Dudley because lifting rocks about was a good way to get into shape. Harry had gotten angry after Dudley had gone into the kitchen for a fourth time for a Popsicle and had threatened to turn Dudley into a giant ice cube if he didn't stick around and help. Dudley had stuck around. But Harry shook his head, "No, I wanted to ask you something." He said.  
  
Dudley shrugged as he kept up a constant rain of blows upon the punching bag so Harry continued. "What did you see when that dementor came at you last summer?"  
  
Dudley froze and Harry was a bit disturbed to see his cousin tremble slightly. "Nothing." Dudley said finally, but Harry knew that he was lying. Dudley began to punch the punching bag again, his face flaming red.  
  
"Come on, did you see all the chocolate on earth get destroyed? Everyone bigger and stronger than you? Get turned into a pig again? Not that that'd make much of a difference I suppose, you look enough like one already." Harry said. He was irritated that his cousin wouldn't tell him and he was irritable in general with being stuck in Privet drive and the constant thoughts of Sirius.  
  
Dudley turned to face Harry, his face getting paler and paler as Harry spoke. "SHUT UP!" he yelled. He jumped at Harry before he could react, tackling him and pinning him to the ground. "You're always making fun of me! I know you hate me! I know you want to do all those things that you're always saying you'll do, but couldn't you just leave me alone for once?" Each sentence was punctuated with a blow, but each blow grew weaker and weaker as tears started to leak down Dudley's face. "I don't care if you turn me into a pig or a bucket of lard, or a ferret! I can't take you anymore!" Harry just stared at his cousin who rolled off of Harry and lay on the floor staring up at the ceiling. "I know you hate me, but couldn't you just leave me alone?" Dudley asked, staring at Harry. 


	2. Chapter 2

Harry groaned as he rolled over in bed. A tawny owl was pecking incessantly at the window. "Coming, coming." He said. Harry stumbled to his feet and pulled up the window to let the owl in. Hedwig hooted the greeting to the newcomer before bringing her winq up over her head once more.  
  
Harry took the letter from the owl and it took off through the open window. Harry didn't bother to close it again, the owl with his Daily Prophet would be there soon enough. Harry examined the letter that the owl had given him carefully, not wanting to stumble upon any curses or hexes. He relaxed when he saw the Hogwarts seal and then gasped, "My OWLs! I totally forgot about them." He said.  
  
He ripped the envelope open to find a note.  
  
Dear Mr. Potter,  
The results of your Ordinary Wizarding Level exams have been forwarded to us from the Examiners. Here are the results as we received them.  
Astronomy: Poor (I don't fault you for this grade because of the  
events that were taking place that night but otherwise you would get  
quite a reprimand from me)  
Charms: Exceed Expectations  
Transfiguration: Exceed Expectations  
Herbology: Acceptable  
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Outstanding (Professor Tofty asked me  
to commend you for your exemplary corporeal patronus)  
Care of Magical Creatures: Outstanding  
Divination: Poor  
Potions: Acceptable  
History of Magic: Acceptable  
  
Sincerely,  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
Harry winced when he saw the grade he had received in Potions. All of the other classes that he would need to get NEWTs in were up to scratch but McGonagall had said during his career counseling session that Snape only let O students into his NEWT level class. Harry sighed as he looked at the paper and then noticed a small note scribbled into the corner.  
  
You'll still be taking Potions though, need an excuse for your other lessons. Dumbledore considered teaching you but he hasn't the time and Snape is there.  
  
Harry wasn't sure whether to be relieved or dismayed, he was still going to take Potions from Snape, and evidently Occlumency too. "I have to though, if I could just have swallowed my pride last year and learned from Snape Sirius would never have died."  
  
"Who's dead?" Dudley asked. Harry looked up to see his cousin's head sticking through his doorway. Harry groaned inwardly, the night before had definitely been strange, he still wasn't sure what to say to Dudley.  
  
"No one, Diddykins." He said.  
  
"No, come on, who's dead?" Dudley asked.  
  
"NO ONE!" Harry yelled. He was surprised that Dudley didn't look afraid, he had grown used to the constant fear from the Dursleys.  
  
Dudley just shrugged. "Just tell me." He said.  
  
Harry lay back on his bed, fighting to ignore Dudley. He heard a stifled yelp and looked up to see an owl winging its way into his room with the Daily Prophet. The owl landed on Dudley's shoulder and dipped down its beak so the frozen boy could relieve it of its burden.  
  
Harry smothered a laugh in his pillow before going ovcr to help Dudley. As the owl left he turned to his cousin, "Owls really aren't all that horrible Popkin." He said. Dudley smirked at him and looked down at the newspaper he held in his hand. "Hey, the pictures are moving!" he said.  
  
Harry nodded. "Yeah, now get out of my room Diddy." He took the paper from Dudley who had been staring at it with interest. "This is a wizard's newspaper. Your dad would get mad if he knew I'd been exposing you to my "freakish" world."  
  
Dudley shook his head as though remembering that he had been having a remotely civil conversation with his cousin. "Right, get away from me you freak! And if you wake me up one more time with your screaming I'm gonna whip your ass even if you do use your little stick." He said.  
  
Harry just watched his cousin walk out of the room with one eyebrow up. Perhaps his cousin was changing.Harry snorted. Dudley Dursley? Never. He looked down at the newspaper and sighed when he saw the headline, "Four Death Eaters Escape" Harry scanned the article looking for the names. "Lucius Malfoy's out." He said. "Wonder if they'll question Malfoy about where his dad is, he'd just hate that."  
  
The third owl of the morning swung in through the window and Harry grinned to see Pig, Ron's owl. Ron had written him some during the summer but not nearly enough as Harry could have liked. And even what Ron did write didn't tell Harry what he really wanted to know. What was going on with the order?  
  
Pig flew over to rest on Hedwig's perch and Harry ripped open the seal on the letter.  
  
Harry-  
  
Get your things ready. Dumbledore wants you to come here for the rest of the summer. Get your things ready. We'll be there soon.  
-Arthur Weasley  
  
Harry grinned down at the letter and then dashed to his dresser to remove a small bottle. He uncorked the bottle and brushed a bit of the liquid inside onto the paper. Mr. Weasley's name glowed green and Harry's grin widened even more. Moody had sent him the stuff, it was to make sure that the person that the letter was from had actually written the letter.  
  
Harry stuffed the books that sat on his floor back into his trunk and grabbed his robes from where they hung in the closet. He had had to ask Aunt Petunia to wash them as he wasn't entirely sure that he knew how to work the washing machine anymore. He carefully folded the robes and put them into his trunk also along with the remains of the money he had taken out of his Gringotts account the summer before. He took his Firebolt out of his trunk and tucked his wand into his back pocket, not particularly caring if he blew his butt off by accident. At least it would provide a little bit of excitement for this dreary summer.  
  
He hated being stuck with the Dursleys all summer. He wanted to be out there fighting against Voldemort and helping to ready the wizarding world for the war. But no, he had to stay at home like a good little boy and be safe. The messages had come from all his friends all summer. "We miss you", "Hope you're having fun", "Don't do any magic", "Stay close to the house", "You probably wouldn't have wanted to be here anyway". It was horrible, even if Dumbledore had explained the whole prophecy thing. Harry stifled a shudder, "Neither can live while the other survives." He shook his head, he had promised himself that he wasn't going to be thinking of that.  
  
"Hedwig, I'm going to be leaving, so can you follow Pig home?" Harry asked.  
  
Hedwig gave him a gently peck and then pecked Pigwidgeon slightly less gently, startling the smaller owl out of his slumber. Harry smiled as the two owls took off and emptied the contents of the owl cage out of the window before tying it to his trunk. Everything seemed ready.  
  
"Hey there Harry!" Harry turned around to see an ancient looking old man with green hair. He stared for a moment and the old man looked at him puzzled but then smiled. "Ah right, you wouldn't recognize me like this would you?" Harry stared as the old man morphed into Tonks. "Rather good disguise really." She said.  
  
"Er, very good. I couldn't recognize you." Harry said. "So you've come to take me to Headquarters?"  
  
Tonks nodded, "Everyone else is downstairs-"  
  
"Hey Frea-" Dudley trailed off as he saw Tonks. "Oh.er." he turned to escape, his face a scarlet red with fear. Harry snorted, evidently the fear of wizards was only wearing off towards him.just his luck.  
  
"No, no, come back.er, Dudley is it?" Tonks said.  
  
Dudley froze in the doorway and then turned around, a stricken expression on his face, "You know my name?" he asked.  
  
"Of course, you're Harry's cousin. Now, if you'd just tell your parents that Harry's leaving for the rest of the summer and not to worry because it's Dumbledore's orders." Tonks said.  
  
Dudley nodded numbly and kept staring as Tonks turned back to Harry's trunk. With a swish of her wand she shrunk the trunk down until it could fit into the palm of Harry's hand. Harry stooped to pick it up and grabbed his Firebolt from the corner. "Have a good summe Popkin." He muttered to Dudley as he passed. Dudley snarled and lunged for Harry but Tonks turned, whipping out her wand and pointing it at Dudley who froze in place.  
  
Harry laughed as they walked quietly down the hall, "Thanks Tonks." He said.  
  
"Sure, but maybe you shouldn't provoke him like that Harry." She said.  
  
Harry started to protest but Tonks interrupted him, "Come on, we're going to meet the others in the kitchen. We've got to get going."  
  
Lupin and Moody were sitting on the kitchen counter, talking in low voices and to Harry's surprise Fred was sitting in a chair, his feet on the kitchen table. Harry snorted, wondering what Aunt Petunia's reaction would be if she saw anyone with his feet on her pristine table.  
  
Fred looked up and grinned at Harry. "Hey there Harry, all right?"  
  
Harry nodded, "Yeah, but what're you doing here?" he asked.  
  
Moody scowled at Fred and Harry, "We can explain later, now get yourselves onto your brooms and lets go." Fred grabbed his broom from the table and Harry saw that it was a Nimbus 2003. "Very nice." He whispered to Fred as the walked out onto the back porch. Fred flashed him a thumbs up and sprang onto his broom to sail into the air. "They say it isn't as good as the Firebolt," he nodded to Harry's broom, "but seems near perfect to me. Business is good so I thought I'd treat myself to a new broom."  
  
"So you've opened your store?" Harry asked.  
  
Fred opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by Moody, "Less chatter back there. Veer left!" Harry could see Fred roll his eyes and he grinned as he whipped his broom to the left.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Ron! Ginny! Harry's here!" Harry grinned as he heard Hermione racing up the stairs, her shrill voice piercing down through the floor to him. It was good to be back at Grimmauld Place, no matter what memories of Sirius it brought to him. He looked around in delight as he saw how much cheerier the house seemed than it had last year. Sirius would have liked his house to be happy Harry thought to himself.  
  
Ginny and Ron came tumbling down the stairs, followed by Hermione. Ron grinned at Harry. "Good to see you mate. Been a bit horrid with only the girls for company." He said. Ginny snorted and Harry turned look at her quizzically but she just shook her head.  
  
"Harry, what did you get on your OWLs? We all got our results yesterday!" Hermione said. Harry grinned, trust Hermione to bring up school at the first chance she got. "You've gotten all O's I suppose?" he asked.  
  
Hermione nodded, looking a little embarrassed. "Well, yes, and I took the Muggle studies OWL also and I got an O in that too!"  
  
Harry shook his head and turned to Ron expectantly. "I've done alright." He said. "Got an E or an O in most of my subjects. Couple of As and a P. I'm pleased with it. What about you mate?" he said.  
  
Harry told them and then told them about still needing to take Potions. Ron grinned, "I've got saddled with Potions too. Got an O in that, I've no idea how, and Mom says that I've got to keep taking it. No idea why." he said.  
  
Harry grinned. "At least we're all in it together then. Tell me what's been going on here!" he said.  
  
They started to tell him all about the new recruits to the Order and about the night Fudge had called them all up and it ended up just being a crazy old muggle getting into the Ministry building. Harry laughed with them but he was seething inside, it sounded as if they had been having a great time while he was cooped up with the Dursleys. He shook the feeling out of his head and forced the grin to stay on his face.  
  
Fred walked back into the entryway and Harry turned to him. "So why were you with all of them to pick me up?" he asked.  
  
Fred grinned. "Well, since we're overage now and out of school." Harry grinned as he remembered Fred and George's exit from the school. "Dumbledore actually gave us an honorary diploma for "services to the school"." Fred said, grinning. "But we joined up with the Order and then they finally figured out that we were worth something to them when we figured out how to get the owl post to work."  
  
"Hasn't owl post always worked?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well yes, but we developed the Order Post. You see, we used a dumbed down version of the Fidelius Charm. No one who isn't sealed to the Order can even see the owls we send out who have the charm on them. Then we incorporated the letters in with the charm so that they'll appear blank if you aren't sealed to the order. You weren't sealed to it yet though, so we had to send that message by regular post. I came along to seal you in and wahla! Here we all are."  
  
Harry nodded, impressed by the complexity of what Fred had just described. He had always known that the twins were smart but before they had always seemed to devote all of their intelligence to having fun.  
  
"Harry dear, there you are! Come now, we need you all in for dinner, we have to resolve a few things." Mrs. Weasley bustled past the group and they followed her into the kitchen which was stuffed with people.  
  
"Hello Harry Potter!" Harry looked down, recognizing that voice immediately.  
  
"Dobby! How come you're here?" he asked. Dobby smiled and Harry stared at him. Dobby had acquired a neon pink cape somewhere and had the most hideous green sock on his left foot.  
  
"Dobby is coming to serve Dumbledore sir. Winky is coming here too, sir. Dobby hears that You-Know-Who is back and he is wanting to help." Dobby said. Harry nodded, still dazed by the pink cape and then went over to sit between Ron and Ginny on the countertop.  
  
"Firstly, now that Harry's here we can address the issue of this house." Lupin said. Harry looked up in confusion and Lupin smiled at him. "Harry, this house belongs to you now and so we don't legally have the permission of the owner to have our Headquarters here." he said.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, confused.  
  
Lupin smiled. "The house belongs to you now. Is it alright if we use it?' he asked.  
  
"Oh, er, yes. What?" Harry said.  
  
Ginny nudged him, "Sirius left most of his things to you Harry. Like the house. He left a bunch of money to you too, and the rest of that went to Lupin." Harry looked up and saw that Lupin's robes were much less shabby than they had been the year before. He was still having trouble letting all of this sink in. "Er." Ginny shook her head and put a finger to her lips with a grin as she turned back to listen to Lupin. "Good, with that cleared away, if you kids could leave." Lupin turned to them and smiled apologetically as they groaned. Harry frowned as he followed everyone out of the room, he had thought that it might be better this year.  
  
"And now we don't even have Fred and George with their Extendable Ears." Ron groaned as he flopped down onto a sofa. Ginny reached into her pocket and pulled out a Dungbomb which she chucked against the door to the kitchen. It bounced back and exploded into green slime which smelled foul. "What's that?"  
  
"That's how you know if there's an Impertrubable Charm on it." Ron said.  
  
"He knows that you idiot, he was asking what the bomb was." Ginny said with a smirk towards Ron. Harry smiled at her. "They're Fred and George's SlimeSacks. Much more fun than Dungbombs really. Although I think I like the SlimeMines better, but they're no good for throwing." She said. Everyone slumped back but then Ginny started up, "I completely forgot! The dumbwaiter!" 


	3. Chapter 3

Everybody turned to stare at her. "Ginny, there aren't any dumb waiters in the house. There aren't even any waiters." Ron said. His tone was that of a person speaking to a very young child.  
  
"No you idiot, a dumbwaiter, they're like miniature elevators, servants used to use them." Harry said. The others still looked confused except for Hermione who would know about dumbwaiters, being a Muggle-born and Ginny who was nodding in agreement. "This house was built by muggles originally and so it has a dumbwaiter in it. I found it when we were cleaning last summer and two of those nasty giant flobberworms were chasing me. It goes right down into the kitchen." Ginny said, "Come on, we've got to hurry if we're going to be able to hear anything good." She said. Ginny sprang to her feet and dashed out of the room with everyone else following her. She led them up the winding stairs to the attic and pulled a dingy tapestry aside to reveal the entrance to the dumbwaiter.  
  
Ron peered into the dusky opening with a slightly squeamish expression and poke nervously at one of the cobwebs in the corner with his wand. "You're sure these dumbwafers work?" he asked.  
  
"Dumbwaiters idiot, and yes, I'm sure they work. I rode it down a little ways to get away from the flobberworms." Ginny said. She batted aside the cobwebs and scrunched herself into a corner. "We're going to have to squeeze if we want to fit all of us on here." Harry squeezed himself into the corner and Hermione sat on his other side.  
  
"Er how does this mo-" Ron stopped as Ginny poked one of the buttons with her wand and the dumbwaiter started to move. Harry peered at the panel of buttons, "Where do all of these other ones lead to? The kitchen is obvious from the symbol but I don't get a couple of these others." He said.  
  
Ginny shrugged. "Who knows, I only just remembered this thing was here because I wasn't really all that interested in it last time. But I was talking to Dobby the other day and he was talking about the dumbwaiter and I asked him what he meant and when he explained it I realized that this must've been a dumbwaiter." She said.  
  
"Shhh!" hissed Ron. The four in the dumbwaiter strained to hear the voices in the kitchen.  
  
"Then they're all out?" that was Mr. Weasley's voice.  
  
"Every single one of them. The Ministry isn't telling anyone yet, everyone would go crazy if they knew that every person ever sentenced to Azkaban was free. The dementors have disappeared from the island along with the Death Eater prisoners. They found the others just wandering aimlessly around the island." Lupin said.  
  
"So he has it then? He has th-" that was Tonks, Harry thought.  
  
"Shutup!" Moody said. Harry turned to look at Ron, his eyes wide. Moody's eye! How could they have forgotten? Ginny was fumbling in the dark for the button but suddenly the air seemed to grow heavy, making it impossible to move. The door that separated the dumbwaiter from the kitchen slid open and the four cowered at the sight of Mad Eye Moody grinning widely.  
  
"I always did say you were cut out for becoming an Auror, good work Potter, Weasley." He nodded towards Harry and Ron. "But get out! Now! This is important business that we're discussing, nothing that concerns you." Moody said.  
  
"Really Ron, I'm surprised at you. Leading your sister in running amok like this!" Mrs. Weasley spluttered. Ginny just snorted as Moody reached in and stabbed one of the buttons with his wand. "Off you go then." He said.  
  
The four of them just stared at each other as the dumbwaiter creaked it's way upwards. Harry guessed that they were about a quarter of the way up to the attic when the dumbwaiter creaked itself to a halt.  
  
"Great, now we have no idea what's been happening, and we're stuck in a stupidwaiter." Ron said. Hermione leaned over and put a hand on his shoulder and he turned a bright scarlet and fell silent. "We know more than we did." Harry corrected him. Hermione nodded, "Evidently Azkaban has fallen. And You-Know-Who has something now. So that's something at least."  
  
Ron snorted. "It still isn't worth being trapped inside this dumbwaiter. I bet this place is crawling with spiders just waiting to come out and sink their little fang into us." He said with a shudder. "Can't we get out of here?" he asked.  
  
"I doubt we can without magic." Harry said. "Someone see if you can open the door though." Hermione leaned over and wrenched at the handle to the door but it remained stubbornly closed. "Either there isn't anything on the other side of the door and there's a safety charm to keep it from opening, or this opening hasn't been used in so long it's near impossible to get open."  
  
Ginny looked up with a smile. "I've got an idea." She reached deep into her pocket and pulled out a pocket knife. Ron stared at it curiously. "What's that thing?" he asked. Hermione explained pocket knives to him in a low whisper while Ginny dragged Harry closer to the door. "Okay, now I just need you to use." she was turning her knife over looking for the blade she needed. "this!" she pulled one of the blades back and a crowbar jumped out of the knife. Harry laughed as he took it from her. "Handy little thing, that pocket knife."  
  
She smiled as she watched him stick the crowbar into the crack between the door and the wall. "Dad made this for me. Its come in handy in a couple of tight spots." She said. Harry braced himself against the crowbar and Ron jumped up to help him when he saw what his friend was trying to do. Hermione went over to help Ginny who was fumbling in her robes for something. Finally she withdrew a small vial and cast around in the corners of the dumbwaiter until she found a loose chunk of plaster. Hermione was sniffing the vial and she gasped. "This is Fred and George's Expanding Elixir." Ginny nodded. Ron interrupted before she could say anything else with a loud grunt and Ginny started. Then she turned and grinned. "Whoops." The plaster began to grow as the Expanding Elixir took effect and the door slowly ground open to reveal a solid brick wall. Harry looked down. He could see the light pouring into the dark shaft from the kitchen where the door was still open. "D'you think that they'd hear us if we shouted?" he asked. Ron shook his head. "It's a long way down and there's probably a silencer somewhere or they would have heard us creaking when we came down."  
  
They all lay back against the wall and then a slow grin blossomed on Harry's face. "Ginny, do you still have any of those Slimebombs?" Ginny nodded and reached into her pocket. "But don't throw it in here, that reek travels for miles." She warned.  
  
Harry nodded happily and Ron, catching on, chuckled. "I wouldn't expect anything less of a product manufactured by Fred and George." Harry said. Then he took back his arm and flung the Slimebomb down towards the light.  
  
The stench wafted back up the shaft, accompanied by shouts from down below. 


	4. Chapter 4

"Stand back now boys." Moody pushed Harry and Ron into one corner and pointed his wand at the obstinate door. He muttered something and Harry and Ron stared in disbelief as the door they had spent an hour trying to bash down slowly swung open. Moody peered in and when he withdrew his head he was covered with cobwebs and dust. He sneezed and then smiled. "Good luck boys." Then with a crack he disapparated and was gone.  
  
"Ugh." Ron said. He was staring at the cobwebs that adorned the small doorway in front of him. "If we never needed this place before why do we suddenly need it now?" he asked. Harry shrugged as he batted the cobwebs away gingerly as he stepped through the door.  
  
"They're probably just trying to keep us busy. I doubt they really need to have these places explored. It's weird though, this was the first one that was hard to open. All the others seemed rather normal if nasty. Maybe this one will have something interesting in it." He said. His tone was hopeful but he sincerely doubted that there could be anything worth looking for in this dump. He was poking around in his robe pocket and he took out a brightly glowing stone that immediately illuminated the room. It looked like a dilapidated guest room to Harry. Ron waded through the drifts of dust that layered the floor to get to the bed.  
  
"Mum said that she would take us to Diagon Alley today." Ron said as he wrenched the barely recognizable quilt off of the bed and flung it to the floor. Harry stuffed it into the dumbwaiter and pulled out the duster they had brought along. The magical device immediately began zipping around, sucking up the drifts of dust that carpeted the room. Harry and Ron finished stripping the bedclothes off and looked around the room in surprise. Without all the dust it actually looked pretty good. "Huh." Ron sneezed at the dust that the duster was sending into the air and looked around. "It's better than those house elf quarters we cleaned, even if Dobby seemed to think they were wonderful." He said.  
  
Harry nodded and pulled open one of the drawers of the dresser. "Hey look! There's clothes and stuff in here." he said. Ron came over and peered down at the drawer. "Looks like someone sure left the house in a hurry. Then again I would too if it was a choice between staying with Sirius' mad mum or leaving" He said.  
  
"Ron! Harry! We're going to Diagon Alley, hurry up." Ginny yelled. The boys grinned at each other, the contents of the drawer forgotten. The boys scrambled into the dumbwaiter, ducking through the short doorway.  
  
Harry slumped back against the wall while they waited for the slow descent down to the kitchen. They still hadn't been able to find out anything beyond what they had overheard the day he had arrived. It just seemed so unfair of the adults to keep them in the dark. And Fred and George weren't any better, they refused to tell them anything at all. "I can't see why they won't tell us anything. I bet we could be helping a lot more than just cleaning out all of these old rooms and things. I wish they'd just tell us what was going on. I bet I've done more to stop Voldemort than all of them put together! I've faced him alone four times now and every time I've come out on top!" Harry said. He was frustrated with the lack of information that was coming to him, he wanted to be able to do something, he wanted to get Bellatrix Lestrange for what she did to Sirius.  
  
Ron looked at him out of the corner of his eye while he picked intently at his shoes. "Er, maybe they just don't want you-us to get hurt." He said. Harry shrugged and thoughts of the prophecy flitted through his mind. Maybe they really were only trying to protect him. But how was he supposed to learn enough to defeat Voldemort if he was never allowed to fight against him in any way at all. But those were his worries and he didn't want to burden Ron with them. He turned and smiled at his friend. "Yeah, you're probably right, it stinks though." Ron gave him a relieved smile and the dumbwaiter ground to a halt at the door to the kitchen.  
  
"Boys, come on, you're making us late." Mrs. Weasley said. She was fussing with George's shirt and he rolled his eyes at Harry and Ron. "I'm coming along because we're in the middle of negotiations for opening a location in Diagon Alley. The one in Hogsmeade's been doing great business and we've got much more innovative products than Gambol & Japes." George said proudly.  
  
"I'd still get my discount at the one in Hogsmeade though, right?" Ron asked. George nodded. "Yes little Ronnykins, you can still have your little discount. You too Harry." He said. Mrs. Weasley bustled back into the kitchen, dragging Ginny and Hermione along in her wake. "Er come along now, then. We don't have too much time." Mrs. Weasley bustled them all out the front door and into the waiting car. "Who's car is this?" Ron asked, looking around in appreciation. The inside of the car was much roomier than the outside just like it had been in Mr. Weasleys car. The car was lavishly outfitted with couches and chairs, a roaring fire, a cupboard of food.Harry looked all around before settling down on one of the couches with Ron.  
  
He looked up towards to the front but there was no drivers seat and Mrs. Weasley had appropriated a chair for herself and was knitting what looked like the beginnings of a Weasley sweater. "Er, who's driving the car?" Harry asked nervously. Mrs. Weasley motioned absently towards the car and George leaned over to Harry to explain it. "It's an auto-drive. You just say where you want to go and it'll take you there. This one's practically an antique, they've been discontinued since floo powder was developed but the Floo network is so busy these days that it tosses you out at the wrong place pretty often and that would be rather awkward with all the books and things you've got to get." He said. Harry nodded and sat back to talk to Ron who was marveling over a set of wizards chess that had popped out of the air in front of him.  
  
"I haven't gotten my letter yet though," Harry said, "I don't have my booklist or anything." Ron motioned towards his mother absently, "Snape brought them all to her at the beginning of the summer." He said. "Now look at these pieces, I've never seen such a nice set." Soon they were absorbed in a game of chess and the journey to Diagon Alley passed quickly.  
  
* * * * *  
  
"Oy, Ron! Harry! Over here!" Harry looked up to see Seamus shouting at him from where he sat with Dean in front of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. Harry and Ron went over to sit down with them after ordering ice creams for themselves. "You staying with Ron at the Burrow then?" Dean asked.  
  
"Er. Kind of." Harry replied, unsure of just how much it was safe to tell his friends no matter how much he trusted them. Dean just shrugged it off with a smile. "I'm staying with Seamus, I figure my family could be in trouble if I stay there and I'm not about to tell them about You-Know-Who and everything." He said.  
  
Harry nodded. If he didn't know that the Dursley's wouldn't mind him dying in the least he wouldn't want to tell them about Voldemort either. Of course, he hadn't told them much about Voldemort but that was for fear of being kicked out of the house, not bringing danger down on their heads.  
  
"Well, well, if it isn't Potty and the Weasel with all their little friends." Malfoy sneered. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him, grinding their meaty fists together and a nervous looking little man was wringing his hands next to Malfoy. "Master Malfoy, we really should be going now." He said quietly.  
  
"Shut up Jarvis!" Malfoy snapped, not turning to look at the distraut little man. "You watch your back Potter, I'll get you for what you did to my family."  
  
"I didn't do much to your family Malfoy. Just stuck your Death Eater dad into Azkaban and maybe sullied the family name a bit. But hey, you had all that coming anyway." Harry said.  
  
Malfoy growled. "Well at least my dad got the whole job with your little godfather done and finished." He smiled. "Too bad about that murderer anyway, the Dark Lord could use another good Death Eater." Harry threw himself at Malfoy who leaped back in surprise. He tripped over Jarvis' foot and plummeted to the ground, Harry on top of him. "Get 'im off me!" Malfoy screeched. Crabbe and Goyle lumbered over to pry Harry off their leader but Ron threw himself at Crabbe and Dean and Seamus went for Goyle. Harry had just landed a good punch on Malfoy, who now had a nice black eye starting to come in when the air seemed to turn to stone, preventing any motion.  
  
"Yes, you boys are violating Security Code One oh nine three. You will stop your quarrel and disperse peacefully. I repeat you will stop and disperse peacefully." Harry strained to see where the voice was coming from, but whoever was speaking was standing behind him and the air spell prevented him from craning his neck to see who it was. "You will now go about your business. Have a nice day in Diagon Alley." The air spell released with a pop and Malfoy glanced around suspiciously before he allowed Jarvis to drag him away. Harry looked around too until Seamus motioned to a tall building visible in the distance. "Diagon Alley Security House. They've been reinstalled because of Voldemort and all to monitor Diagon Alley twenty-four hours a day. There's some pretty complex spells set up to catch fights like ours but they've got people constantly watching for more serious things." Seamus explained. "My dad's an EMT." The others looked at him with confused expressions. "It means Emergency Magical Trooper, er, it's a bit like being an Auror." He said.  
  
"Cool. Have you guys gotten your books and things yet?" Harry asked.  
  
Dean nodded. "We got our ice cream last. Seamus' folks will be expecting us any minute now. They live here in the Alleys. See you at school!" the boys exchanged goodbyes and Ron and Harry left to go to Flourish and Blotts.  
  
"Let's see. I've dropped Divination, Astronomy and History of Magic." Harry said. "I'm sort of thinking of dropping Herbology too since I want to be an Auror but I like the class well enough. I'm taking N.E.W.T. Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms and Transfiguration. And they said we were going to pick our advanced classes when we got back to school so I guess they'll give us our books then." Harry said.  
  
Ron looked back down at his booklist. "Same here. Mum tried to stop me from dropping History of Magic but she knows how horrible I am at it and Dad hated Professor Binns so I got out of it." He reached over and grabbed two copies of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Six and handed one to Harry.  
  
"Er, we've just got to get Advanced Magical Drafts and Potions, and Advanced Transfiguration; Transfiguration for the N.E.W.T. Student." Harry said, glancing at his booklist.  
  
"What's the book for Defense Against the Dark Arts then?" Ron asked. "Please say it's not Umbridge's evil book."  
  
Harry shook his head. "It's called The Dark Arts: A Comprehensive Guide to Self-defense and Combat Training, manager says that they had to special order it since it's nearly out of print. I've already grabbed them." He handed the almost pocketsize book to Ron who stared at it incredulously. "You're saying that this is the book for N.E.W.T Defense? It's miniscule!" Harry shrugged and walked up to the counter to pay for his books. He was pleased to see that Ron's purse was still full even after he bought his books. Fred and George had been doing wonderfully and it had benefited the entire family.  
  
"Let's stop off at Madame Malkins," Ron said, "Most of my robes are getting way too short for me and if I let Mum shop she buys the doofiest things ever."  
  
Soon the boys emerged from Madame Malkins ladened with bags stuffed full of clothes. Harry had needed some everyday robes too and hadn't been able to resist buying himself some robes that could change into muggle clothes. It would be much simpler than needing to wear muggle clothes when he was just going somewhere like the Hogwarts Express.  
  
The boys continued on until they were almost staggering under the weight of their bags. They stopped in Quality Quidditch Supplies, where Harry picked up and interesting looking book on hand crafting brooms and finally Ron persuaded Harry to go into one of the wizarding jewelry stores that littered Diagon Alley. "I need to get something for Ginny's birthday." He said.  
  
Harry turned red, "When is her birthday? I'd hate to forget to get her something." Ron looked at him for a moment and then shrugged. "It's the day after we get to Hogwarts so we're throwing a little party for her tonight. I got her some little Hair Charmer she asked for." He said.  
  
Harry looked at him quizzically. "If you already got her a present then why do we have to go in here?" he asked.  
  
Ron just turned bright red and dashed into the store. Harry followed, a bemused expression on his face. As he entered the store he looked around at all the beautiful jewelry that lay in cases all around them. An elderly old man walked up to them. "So boys, what would you be looking for? Contraception Charms perhaps?" he asked, pointing to a case filled with various bracelets, necklaces and rings. When Harry figured out what the man meant he turned a near purple color. "Um..er..no thank you." He managed to stammer. The man winked at him conspiratorially as he walked away. Harry turned to the case behind him and looked at the rows and rows of beautiful gems. One necklace in particular caught his eye.  
  
From a simple silver chain hung a gorgeously cut diamond in the shape of a strawberry. The diamond was in a white gold setting and two beautiful stones that Harry didn't recognize framed it. Harry's eyes turned to the card next to the necklace which read; this necklace dates back to the 1500's and holds powerful defense charms. The wearer will experience great luck in love. "Twenty four galleons." Harry murmured. He bought the necklace discreetly, hiding the price from Ron. Not until the two of them were standing inside the Leaky Cauldron sipping a butterbeer did he show Ron the necklace. "Ooh, that's a nice one. Ginny'll love it." Ron said.  
  
"So what'd you get?" Harry asked, motioning to the bag Ron held.  
  
"Oh look, there's Mum!" Ron exclaimed and he dragged Harry quickly out of the pub. 


	5. Chapter 5

"Harry, could I talk to you for a miniute?" Lupin asked. Harry looked up from the book he was reading and smiled at his former professor. "Yeah?"  
  
Lupin say down next to Harry on the bed and bounced for a moment, a small crease in his forehead as he considered how to say what he needed to say. "You remember that I told you that I still had a birthday present to give you?" he asked Harry. Harry nodded and Lupin continued. "And I have it for you. But we've got to clear up some things first. The official reading of Sirius' will is tonight so you'll have to come with me for that. We're supposed to be at the Law Office in about an hour and I wanted to make sure that you were ready. You can handle this can't you?"  
  
Harry nodded impatiently. "I'll be fine." He bit his lip to keep himself from letting any of the pain that he felt come up onto the surface. "I'll be fine." He repeated, more for his own sake than Lupin's. Lupin sent him one more slightly skeptical look and opened his mouth. But he closed it again and just smiled. "Be ready in about twenty minutes then alright, muggle clothes. I know this is a bit hurried but since you go back to school tomorrow and they had the reading scheduled for after that we had to change it in a hurry." Harry managed a feeble smile as Lupin left but as soon as Lupin was out of hearing Harry sank back onto his pillow. He pinched the skin between his thumb and his forefinger, hoping to prevent any of the tears he could feel welling up inside him from escaping.  
  
Twenty minutes later he was downstairs and in the robes that he had bought in Diagon Alley. Lupin gave him a quizzical look as he came out of the kitchen and Harry grinned as he tapped the shoulder of his robes with his wand. Instantly he was wearing a t-shirt and overly baggy pants. Lupin gave him a smiling look of approval as they walked over to the fireplace.  
  
"I thought the Floo Network wasn't very stable right now." Harry said.  
  
"To the Ministry they've got about seventy operatives on just that connection because it's an important one. Practically the only transit that's safe right now." Lupin said. He handed some Floo Powder to Harry, "Exit's Ministry Law Office." He said.  
  
Harry obediently threw the powder in. "Ministry Law Office!" For once he had done it right apparently, as Lupin stumbled into the room only moments behind him. Harry looked around him in thankfulness. The room he had just entered looked nothing like the room Sirius had died in. He breathed a sigh of relief and followed Lupin up a narrow stairway to enter a large room with row upon row of seats. To his surprise almost every seat was filled.  
  
"Sirius left stuff to this many people?" Harry asked incredulously. Remus shook his head with a smile. "No, he'd have had to been about twenty times as rich as he was, they're here for the other part of tonight. The memorial service bit." Harry looked around him, searching for familiar faces. He saw Moody and Dumbledore in one corner, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting with some Ministry executives who looked as if they were around the same age as Remus. To his surprise Harry saw that Snape was sitting among those Ministry officials. Harry blinked a few times, he would not have thought that Snape would care enough about Sirius to come to his memorial service.  
  
There were Tonks and Kingsley down in a clump with the rest of the Aurors, and Cornelius Fudge was standing near the front, frowning down at a long scroll of paper. "Ahem! Yes, order please. If you will come to order we can begin!"  
  
As the room quieted Fudge looked down at the paper one more time and frowned then cleared his throat. "Yes, well, today we are convened here to mourn the passing of a heroic man." Fudge coughed. He looked up and Harry grinned as he saw Moody catch Fudge's eye in a murderous glare. "Yes, a heroic man. His name was Sirius Black. Black was the last descendant of the great Black family and was wrongly accused of the murder of two of his best friends, James and Lily Potter. In truth these two were betrayed by Peter Pettigrew who is evidently still at large despite popular belief. Yes, Sirius Black's name is hereby cleared of any and all wrongdoing and he is post-humously awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class." The wizards in the audience broke into applause and Fudge looked around happily. "Yes, yes, all very good. Now Sirius Black's last will and testament will be read." Fudge stepped aside and a young man Harry didn't recognize stepped forwards to speak.  
  
"I Sirius Black, hereby leave the following to the people named. To Arthur and Molly Weasley I leave ten thousand galleons. To Albus Dumbledore I leave an object that he has expressed much interest in having. I have arranged for it to be sent to his vault at Gringotts simultaneously to this reading." Sirius' will seemed to go on forever leaving various little things to countless people he had known during his life. Finally Harry heard a name that the recognized. "To Severus Snape I leave an apology and something which I have left in Albus Dumbledore's possession to be given to Snape upon the reading of this document." Harry glanced over at Snape as the man at the front continued reading.  
  
Snape's face bore an expression of surprise and something else that Harry couldn't quite name. He shrugged as he turned an ear back to Sirius' will. To Remus Lupin I leave half of the sum of my wealth after the other people have received what has been left to them. Along with that sum I leave the things that we all promised each other that last day at Hogwarts. To Harry James Potter I leave all of my remaining possessions and money including those properties which I own and the servitude of the family house elf, nuts as he may be. To James and Lily Potter I leave my eternal love and gratitude and I hope that if this is being read it means I'm with you two somewhere." Harry stopped listening again as he felt blood welling up inside his mouth from where he had been chewing anxiously on the inside of his mouth.  
  
As Harry finally got a hold on himself he listened to the presentations from those who had known Sirius best bitterly. How could these people who hadn't believed in Sirius' innocence, who had condemned him instantly as a murderer come up and say these loving things about him now? Harry choked down the tears that were threatening to boil from his eyes and he listened as person after person came up to talk. He wanted to say something to them, to show them how stupid they were being, but he didn't think that he would be able to talk even if he tried.  
  
What seemed like hours later Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up into Remus Lupin's eyes. His face was tear streaked and yet another tear was rolling its slow way down his face. "Come on Harry, we'd best be getting home." He said softly. Harry stood up silently and followed Remus back to the Headquarters.  
  
As Harry turned to go into his room Remus reached out and handed him a folded piece of paper. "It's from Sirius." He said. Harry took it and ran.  
  
Dear Harry,  
If you're reading this, it means I'm dead. If I hadn't been sent to  
Azkaban so long ago I'd have to name you a guardian because I am your  
legal guardian. But I was and so you'll be spared of that pain.  
There are a few things I'd like to say to you since I haven't gotten  
around to telling you them yet. Firstly, I loved your father. He was  
like a brother to me and I'll never forget him. He was the best friend  
I ever had and I have never met a better man. Sometimes I forget that  
you aren't your father. I love you Harry, you're like the son I've  
always wanted. You can't imagine how much it hurt me all those years  
in Azkaban knowing that you were growing up with those Muggles and I  
wasn't there to see you. Whenever I look at you I think of your father  
and then I look back at you and I'm only thinking of you. I hope I can  
show you this letter someday, after you've been living with me for  
years and Voldemort's so long dead we can laugh about all this.  
The other thing I wanted to tell you is just as important. No matter  
how I died, no matter under what circumstances it happened, it wasn't  
your fault. I know you'll blame yourself if I die, no matter whether  
or not you were even there at the time. Whoever actually cast the  
spell that killed me, or sank the sword into my gut, they were the  
ones who killed me. You can disregard this paragraph of course if you  
were the one who actually pointed your wand at me and did something  
that made me die. In that case you are responsible, but only then.  
Seeing as I can't really see that, it isn't your fault. No matter what  
you think it wasn't your fault.  
I love you Harry.  
  
Love,  
Sirius  
  
P.S When you get back to Hogwarts you should do a bit of exploring.  
Remus tells me you've got the Map. Put it to good use.  
  
P.P.S I've left something for you with Remus, I'm sure he'll give it  
to you in good time.  
  
P.P.S.S Every time I stop writing I think of something else I want to  
say to you. I've already told you I love you, but I'll say it again.  
Just because I do. I love you Harry.  
  
I've forgotten where we're down to by now so I'll give up on the P.Ss.  
I'm not sure if you've properly explored some of the house's library.  
I've left most of the interesting books to you, go look at them.  
  
I don't think I remembered to include this in my will by the way,  
since I'm really just the caretaker of all this stuff. If I die before  
you come of age you'll get all of the things that Lily and James left  
to you. Besides that puny bit of their money that they gave you in the  
vault you've been using. Most of the things are either at Gringotts or  
up in the attic here. Dumbledore's still got a few of them. And one  
that I'm sure you'll like is under the floorboards in your room. I've  
looked at the Marauder's Map and I'm pretty sure you've got the same  
bed James used to have when we were in Gryffindor together. Look under  
the bed and you should be able to find the right bit alright.  
  
I love you Harry.  
Love,  
Sirius  
  
Harry lay back on his bed and cried. 


End file.
